A Good Day at Bad Rock
by Avirra
Summary: Murdock needs a follow-up exam, so why not combine it with attending a Fourth of July celebration? (Follows a year after the drabble chain 'Suspicions' from 'A Year with Murdock').


Murdock was being fairly quiet as the van headed down the road. Glancing out the window, Murdock kept getting the feeling that the area looked familiar and he finally decided to ask.

"Hannibal? Where are we heading today?"

"We'll be in Bad Rock in about an hour. Maggie gave me a call and reminded me that it's been a year since you got that skull fracture. She wants to take a follow-up x-ray and make sure everything healed right."

"OH. Okay. Thought the scenery looked some I'd seen before."

Face chuckled.

"As many trips as we've made to Bad Rock, it should look familiar, buddy."

Murdock grinned and nodded, but fell back to being quiet. B.A. was in a great mood and he didn't want to spoil it, so he continued looking out the window at the scenery while giving Billy the occasional scratch behind the ears. For his part, B.A. kept checking his mirrors to see what Murdock was up to, but finally decided not to question his good luck that the pilot was having a calm day.

When B.A. parked the van, Murdock was the first one out, but immediately stopped and took a long look around. They were in Bad Rock, but not at Maggie's home. In fact, they were in the middle of town and everywhere he looked, there were red, white, and blue buntings, balloons, and streamers. Flags were flying and snapping in the breeze and a band could be heard warming up nearby.

The weight of B.A.'s hand on his shoulder drew his attention back.

"Well, you gonna just stand here and stare or we going to go get your x-ray out of the way so we can enjoy a good Fourth of July celebration?"

Murdock looked over to Hannibal who was in the process of lighting a cigar.

"Well, when Maggie said she needed that x-ray, she also mentioned that the town was planning a big celebration for the Fourth and invited us to come. Sheriff Thompson knows and is fine with us being here. Now, let's get going. Maggie's waiting for us at the town's new clinic."

New was certainly the word for the clinic - Face wondered if the paint was even dry yet as Maggie came out to greet them.

"I'm so glad you could all make it. Come with me, Murdock. We'll take care of business, then you can enjoy the day. The volunteer fire station is cooking up hamburgers and hot dogs for everyone and the Ladies' Auxiliary are making up apple and cherry pies along with homemade ice cream."

Murdock didn't need any further encouragement, leaving the other three to look over the town from the clinic's front porch. Face leaned on the porch railing and sighed.

"I've seen scenes like this on television shows, but I can't say that I actually believed they actually happened anywhere."

Offering some money from his wallet, Hannibal chuckled and pointed out something Face had missed - a group of children were manning a lemonade stand.

"Why don't you head over there and get enough for all of us? You know how much Murdock likes lemonade."

B.A. stretched and went with Face, muttering that Hannibal couldn't expect Face to carry five cups of lemonade all by himself. Shaking his head, Hannibal settled into one of the rocking chairs on the porch. It wasn't often that the four of them got to enjoy a day of relaxation.

Murdock and Maggie came back out just as B.A. and Face were arriving with the lemonade, which was ice-cold and the perfect mix of sweet to tart. Maggie ducked back inside to check the x-ray when it was ready and came back out with a smile.

"Everything looks good, Murdock."

"Bet that's the first time anyone ever told you that your head was all good."

Murdock grinned at B.A.'s teasing, but his attention was still on Maggie.

"Does that mean I'm free to go see the town?"

"If John doesn't have any objections, I certainly don't. There should be plenty to see - this is a big fund raising day for our fire department."

Hannibal nodded.

"Go have fun, Murdock. Billy could use a good stretch of his legs."

"Thanks!"

As Murdock headed off to where the music could be heard, Face got up and followed at a slower pace. Face wasn't out of sight when B.A. got up to follow as well, leaving Hannibal and Maggie alone.

"I really appreciate everything you've done for my boys over the years. Inviting us here, well, Murdock grew up in a small town like this. To Face, places like this only exist on TV shows. Are they have fireworks tonight?"

"Two hours after sunset, like clockwork. I'm glad they'll enjoy this, but I'll admit to some ulterior motives behind the invitation."

Hannibal gave her a sly smile.

"Ulterior motives, eh? Such as?"

Coming over to his chair, Maggie leaned over and whispered.

"Think your boys can keep themselves occupied for a couple of hours?"

"It will take them at least that long to catch Murdock."

"In that case, why don't I give you a tour of the clinic. The town made it big enough that I even had room to put in a couple of beds."

Murdock had a hot dog in one hand and a balloon in the other as he headed to the clinic to tell Hannibal about what he was missing. He was in time to see Maggie take Hannibal's hand as he got out of the rocker and watched silently as the two of them headed inside the clinic.

Grinning, Murdock took a bite out of his hot dog and headed back to the town's fairgrounds to let Face and B.A. know that the clinic was off-limits for a little while.


End file.
